Grinning
by AnkoStone
Summary: Denmark and Netherlands in a meeting.
1. Chapter 1

A trick of the ol' eyes. That's what it was. A glimmer of false that now haunted the Danish man, and would continue to haunt him if he were never to gain closure.

"You DID smile!"

The Dutch man was stoic, as if the other hadn't said a word to him. They weren't supposed to be speaking anyways. This was an important meeting. They were discussing...Ah. Fuck if he knew, truly, he just wanted to keep his attention away from the sparking blue eyes that were staring at him with both excitement and fear, as if he was unsure if he was supposed to be proud of himself or to question his own sanity.

And while Jan would never admit it, the former was the correct answer.

He had smiled. BUT, it was for a perfectly legit reason. The normally complacent man was often better at hiding a genuine smile. Perhaps if you were to get him drunk, he may break free of his uninterested mug. Even if you were to catch him on a good day, you may only see the curves of his lips around his sister or in smug satisfaction at the failings of others. On any other simple, uneventful day, he was a stone of lackluster emotion.

But damn it, if Mathias's under-the-breath comments weren't the funniest shit ever.

No one could be sure which was the one that broke the camel's back. Had it been the careful jest about Alfred as he stood up to address a point that, to his credit, was on point, but with a wildly unattainable approach to it. Or maybe it had been his tease about Sadik's and Heracules aggressive game of footsie. Whatever it was, the smile had fallen on his face. He had even breathed out a quick exhale in amusement.

And he was going to take that to his grave.

A long whine escaped the Danish man when he realized he wasn't going to get a confirmation on whether or not what he had seen was some sort of sick hallucination, a dire attempt to catch the man he fancied laughing at something he had said. What an honor that would be!

However, nothing more could be discussed, as he was quickly silenced by both a call out from Ludwig, and a eyeful stare from all of the other Nordics, except Tino, who was gracefully not paying attention to the meeting (as many weren't) and instead daydreaming.

Once the meeting was adjourned, the two man stood to exit the room. Despite tradition for all the Nordics to meet together afterward and hang out (it wasn't often they all got to be together like this, and it was usually a good way to exchange notes to those who hadn't bothered to take any), Mathias declined the invitation and decided to leave with Jan. The Dutch man didn't mind. They were together, after all. Dating wasn't the word for it, and simply sleeping with each other wasn't it either. Together was the word they decided on.

Once many of the other nations had dispersed, Mathias stepped up next to Jan, who was lighting a cigarette. They were standing next to his car, a blue clunker that he could afford to replace, but refused to because it still ran. Mathias jokingly asked for a smoke, but quickly laughed it off and declined the offer when Jan began to pull one out. Mathias didn't hate smoking, but he was trying to slow down on it, usually saving it for only the most stressful of days, or whenever his lungs simply demanded it.

To Jan's utter disappointment, as soon as the stick was back in it's box, Mathias began excitedly asking about the smile.

"Really though? Did I make you smile? I'm not going to tell anyone!" The promise was worthless. Jan could care less if anyone else had known he'd smiled. It was the sight that was worth the most. And, if the Danish man was going to refuse to let it go, then Jan was going to make the other work for a confession out of him.

With the puppy dog nation bouncing in anticipation, Jan merely shrugged.

"Don' remember." He said, making the other groan in annoyance.

"That just makes me think you did and you aren't gonna tell me." A look of defeat washed over Mathias as Jan began to open the car door, dropping his burnt out cigarette to the ground and stepping on it. Not that the man had much sympathy, especially for the pouting man, he could play this to his favor.

A smirk. Wasn't quite a smile, but a promise for something.

"Come back t'my place 'n I'll let ya know." He said. Mathias perked up instantly, letting Jan know that his disappointment had all been an act. But it didn't matter. In the end, they were both going to get what they wanted.

Mathias would get his answer, and Jan was going to get a very good reason to smile for the rest of the night.


	2. Chapter 2

The drive back to Jan's place was one of confused excitement for the Dane. Much like he felt earlier at the prospect of spotting a smile on the other's face, he was bother allured by the idea of finding out of he had made the other smile, while also a bit anxious about where this had gotten. Not that he was turning this away. Oh no. No. Definitely NOT that. He was more down than the south, but it was a bit of a spur of the moment kind of deal. Not Jan's style. But maybe having been caught off guard was giving him this adrenalin. Mathias really didn't know. But he wasn't going to complain. Certainly not.

Despite Jan having stated they were heading back to his place, that was a bit unreasonable. The meeting had been held in Italy, and it wasn't like Jan was going to drive the fifteen hours it would take to get to his home, and even if that WAS the plan, Mathias would have to decline on account that he was just leaving his car at this building. He would probably end up with a ticket, if his car wasn't towed. This really wasn't the brightest of ideas for him, but Jan was just so alluring, how could one resist his syrupy draw? Impossible.

So he knew they would be going to a motel, or an inn (Mathias didn't know the difference). The statement had probably been for dramatic affect. Another quality that Jan tended not to have.

They drove for about twenty minutes until Jan pulled into the first overnight place he spotted. Hopefully they would had a place open, and for cheap. Because while he was sort of in anticipation for what was to come, he wasn't willing to spend so much out of pocket for it. He could he sleep with Mathias at any time. He didn't have to break the bank for it.

Checking in was swift. They split the bill, and was given their room key. Jan had a change of clothes in his car, most nations tended to keep overnight clothes with them for emergencies. Mathias didn't have anything with him at the moment, but he could just wear his old clothes to his car, and change at the airport when he would leave the next day.

Once in, Mathias walked over to the bed. He wasn't going to feign ignorance and pretend he didn't know why they were there. He didn't know how fast the other wanted to take it, or if he was going to get his answer and then move on to their next activity, but when he turned around to face the other, he saw that he was already in the process of taking off his shirt.

"Oh wow, we aren't, like, going to settle in at all, huh?" He asked with a playful tone that hid away his shock and, albeit, skepticism. Jan was getting into this way too quickly.

There was a catch.

Jan sat on the bed. He absentmindedly tossed his shirt to the side. Mathias watched on with a more concerned than excited gaze at this point.

Then returned that smirk.

"Make me smile."

Never before had this task ever been a requirement. While it wasn't uncommon for Jan to smile, or smirk, or just wear a pleasant look about him while flirting around with Mathias, he never really had to force it out of him. And god knows the Dutch man could be stubborn. But, as stubborn as he was, Mathias was equally persistent, as well as determined to make the other grin from ear to fucking ear.

"Fuck yeah I'll make you smile." Mathias said. He was quick in his actions, moving across the bed, climbing over the other's body, making motions to straddle his lap and tear into the other's flesh with his lips. But a rough hand was touched against the Dan's dry lips, not even haven taking the time to properly prepare for kissing.

"Not like that."

"Well how the hell am I supposed to do it?" Mathias asked, sitting up on his knees and placing his hands on his hips, looking at Jan expectantly. But the other shrugged, continuing to wear a nonchalant air about him.

"Figure it out."

The next ten minutes for the Dane was excruciating. He went through every joke he could remember, roasted enough countries to start a world war, even made idiotic faces that, at times, he had to stop and laugh at himself because he was so damn good, but Jan remained stoic. Their eyes hardly ever looked away from each other, even as Mathias grew more and more frustrated at each failure. It felt like torture, and agony was all he was rewarded with. He was growing impatient, even a bit annoyed with the other, as he began to lose hope.

"You're a bastard." Mathias said, giving in. He laid his forehead against the other's bare shoulder, signaling defeat. He had nothing more to give, and what was worst, Jan's frown was rubbing off on him. He didn't even feel happy. A success would feel bitter sweet at this point. And while he knew that Jan was simply making this task impossible for the enjoyment of himself, it was wearing the normally cheerful man out, and he was exhausted beyond belief.

Which of course, defeat was only endearing to a man of such cold intentions. Though, Jan had to admit, he really hated how dejected the other looked. As if he had truly offended or hurt him. Jan started to feel a bit bad. In all honesty this was meant to be foreplay. He would get Mathias pissed and hard, and then they could get onto some aggressive love making, but this was all a bit too sad, and he was beginning to wonder if all of this had been worth it.

So, he gave into his sensitive side, just this once, to try and cheer the other man up. Partly because he felt guilty for causing this, and partly because he honestly hated the sight of Mathias so down.

"Stop being down." It wasn't a command. It wasn't a call for action, he was requesting it. He wanted Mathias to go back to himself, and the Dutch man knew what he had to do in order to get it to that.

He lightly threaded one of his tough hands through the back of Mathias's hair. He could feel the resistance of of hair gel, and combing his fingers through it brought out it's scent. It was a familiar scent on the man, second only to his cologne. Mathias moved his head off of Jan's shoulder to look at him, his eyes sad and his mouth a bit pouty, almost in a comical sense, if only Jan wasn't sure that it came from a genuine hopelessness.

Swallowing his pride, the stoic, hardcore man, cracked a smile. It wasn't forced, he had a good reason to smile, he had to make his Dane happy again. His pinks lips curved at the corners, his cheeks rising up a bit. He was red in the face, somewhat from the proximity of the other's body heat, but mostly from his own embarrassment. The smile stayed on his face though, even as the hand in Mathias's hair traced down to the man's cheeks. Jan almost looked pleasant. If he looked like this all the time, perhaps people wouldn't be so apprehensive to approach him.

"Aw, ya look so sweet." Mathias mused, tilting his head to emphasize his point. His teasing wouldn't break the other's stare though. The moment was tender and sweet, something that wasn't always easy to come by for two strong, independent men. So it surprised neither of them when Mathias leaned in, connecting their two grinning faces.


End file.
